Remembering
by Splatter of Inkblots
Summary: What if things could go differently after the day Makino chooses to leave Domyouji Tsukasa  after striking a deal with Tsukasa's mother?  Fate drives the two farther away from each other, but would their love survive?


Remembering

Plot: What if things could go differently after the day Makino chooses to leave Domyouji Tsukasa (after striking a deal with Tsukasa's mother?) Fate drives the two farther away from each other, but would their love survive?

Author's note: Before you wonder, I kind of mixed the timeline of Hana Yori Dango Season two up. I'm assuming that in this story the Domyouji group is continually collapsing, and Hanazawa Rui hasn't given up on Makino. Think of it as a deviation from the actual storyline.

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><p><em>That stupid, selfish, self-centered moron. <em>

_How could I, Makino Tsukushi, have fallen in love with him?_

It didn't make sense to Makino as she pondered, hugging her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth on the bed in their smaller residence where her family spent whole days gathering seaweed for a living. She was getting used to life here in the fishing village.

Makino used her fists to pummel the bed in frustration, feeling her strong, "tough weed" heart crumbling. She can't believe the events of the past few days.

_The look on Domyouji's face when she told him she could no longer be with him. _

_The way his face twisted with disbelief, the flare of anger in his eyes. _

_Makino stood her ground firmly, but she could feel her insides roaring with as much emotion as Domyouji had. She just had to keep it in, be strong for the both of them. It was, after all, for his own good—for the Domyouji Group. _

Makino's eyes stung with the sudden flow of tears, which came now instead of at the moment itself. She let her tears flow, where nobody could see her or disturb her moment of solitude. How she missed Domyouji, and the times she had been with him.

She could still reminisce the days that Domyouji was entirely hers—the day when she chased him while he was on his private plane to New York; admitting to him her true feelings; how much she loved that stupid self-centered Domyouji. And that kiss, that electrifying touch of his lips when they kissed her own…

She cried even harder, covering her face with her blanket. She had never felt so alone, so vulnerable to her own feelings that she had to let them out while she could. She secretly cherished moments when her own proud self could revel freely in the emotions she bottled up inside of her. This was her time, her only time.

She asked herself, time and again, why she had fallen in love with Domyouji, when she had so hated him at first sight.

He had said it himself. They were destined to be lovers by Saturn.

_But if we were truly destined for each other… why do we always have to be apart? _

His voice echoed in her ears, as if hearing his voice once more. _"Makino… have you ever thought about me as an individual, not the son of the Domyouji Group? Have you ever really loved me as an individual?"_

She lost every hold she had on her tears, letting them hit her cheeks and flow down her face. She could never bring herself to face the fact that Domyouji would never be hers, and no matter how much she tried, true love would never find her. Because, even if she wouldn't admit it to herself, Domyouji was the only man for her.

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><p>Domyouji could have stayed in the rain much longer, but he let himself in his own room after a while. Tama was worried about him, drying him off, telling him to take a bath so he wouldn't catch a cold. He no longer cared.<p>

Nothing was worth doing after what Makino had just said.

He felt like an animal, ready to let his feelings run wild with anger. He couldn't wait to put a hole in the wall after his encounter with Makino.

Pushing past Tama, he flew up the stairs, into his room, not noticing how his wet clothes and hair dripped on the floor. He punched the wall several times, howling. His heart was irrevocably breaking with each second. He felt so useless, how those efforts of getting Makino back were just wasted efforts with her leaving him of her own accord…

_Why?_

He punched and punched until he couldn't take his frustration.

_Why? Makino… do you not know how much I love you? That I would fight to my last breath for you? That I, the great Tsukasa Domyouji, heir to the Domyouji group, am not afraid of my mother? That I would stand up for you, no matter what? Why would you leave me?_

It hurt all the more when he thought to himself that it was out of her own free will to leave him.

_Makino… did you ever truly love me?_

Tears welled up in his eyes as his frustration took over from immediate anger.

_Makino… don't you remember? We were destined for each other from the beginning. I could never love any girl but you. You are the most important thing to me._

He finally brought himself to sit on the bed, putting his face in his hands. He sat like this for a long time.

During the previous times he felt so alone, he would always have the F4 to lean on, his strong group of friends to listen to him and give him advice. They weren't there now. He needed the space to think.

He cried for a long time, desperately reviewing the moments one after another, trying to find out if there was any other reason for Makino to abandon him so suddenly.

_The witch. _

His witch of a mother could not leave Makino alone, having to make a deal with her to keep the precious company safe.

What with the guilt he carried deep within him, how Ken Uchida took his life because of his drastic actions. He would carry that with him forever.

_You have a company to take care of, Domyouji. You can't just let it go to be with me. _Makino's words resounded in his mind, mingling with his guilt for Ken Uchida's suicide. He felt the weight of a collapsing company in his hands as he tried to shout out his words from the beginning: there were other ways to revive the Domyouji company.

But all sorts of positive energy have deserted him now. All he could think about was Makino, the only girl he could ever love.

_And she is telling me to let go of her and live my own destiny. Has she ever wondered about me as a person and not as a son of the Domyouji Group? _He felt like screaming. Makino's hardheadedness was one of the things he loved about her, but right now, it caused him utmost frustration and anger. Why couldn't she understand that he couldn't live without her even if he tried?

_She was gone. She left him. She didn't want him, nor wanted to be around him._

He took in that unmistakable grief and hoped to never wake up. At least, in his dreams, he could still be with Makino.

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><p>Hanazawa Rui crossed his legs over the large window seat he had been occupying in his room. It was his favorite pondering spot, a place where he could think freely, his private sanctuary. He loved thinking in that small space, wondering about life, thinking about Makino.<p>

Makino.

She hadn't spoken to him in the days past, after he told her that he would not give up on her. It hurt him to think that Makino preferred his jerk friend to him, who was always nice to her and lent her a helping hand when she needed one.

He was always there to pick up the pieces when Tsukasa left her crying and emotionally wound up. Tsukasa would never know this because it was always he, Hanazawa Rui, who would rush to comfort Makino. He had grown to love her for her fragile heart, for her vulnerabilities despite her strong front, for her courage to constantly stand up to Tsukasa.

The sad thing was, she didn't love him back.

_Ring, ring. _His cellphone chimed its classical hymn as Hanazawa Rui's heart jumped. He didn't think that someone would call him up this late, in the middle of the night. He could only hope that it was Makino.

He flipped his cellphone open casually, seeing Makino's name on the screen, and answered it.

"Makino?"

"Hello… Hanazawa Rui?" Makino's familiar voice stirred up his emotions, making his heart suddenly pound against his chest.

"Makino. It's been a while since we last talked. How are you?" Rui said with casual composure.

"I'm okay. I just broke up with Tsukasa." Her voice was close to breaking, as Rui heard it over the phone.

He immediately leaped for concern. "Makino. Tell me everything."

He listened as Makino told him about her story of breaking up with Domyouji in the rain, and how she ran away, and went back to the fishing village.

"Rui… I need to ask you a favor."

"Anything, Makino."

"Could you… could you keep Domyouji from knowing where I am?"

Hanazawa Rui, upon hearing this, hesitated. He knew Tsukasa would be looking for this kind of information, and as his friend, he didn't want to keep something from him when he knew it was valuable.

"Please, Rui? It's for his own sake." He could hear Tsukushi's tone of desperation.

Hanazawa Rui sighed. And finally, he said, "I personally don't want to make this deal, Tsukushi. Not when I know that I would cause someone else pain. But you leave me no choice, and because I want to respect your wishes, I will agree to your request." He sighed once more.

"Thank you, Hanazawa Rui." Silently, they both hung up.

Hanazawa Rui stared at the ceiling, never losing composure.

The things he did for love.

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><p>AN: Please read and review! :)


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